It's All About Tea — history

Many tea drinkers around the world might be under the impression that teapots were invented practically the same day the tea leaf was first brewed! It’s an interesting image, indeed, but not an accurate one. The teapot itself had to go through some evolution in times past. (Read more) 

The Chinese Tea Ceremony. Gong Fu Cha. In the west, we have all developed certain connotations behind these phrases, and for most of all, the image we get when we hear Chinese tea ceremony is the same. A gaiwan or yixing teapot filled to the brim with tea leaves, some small teacups, a tea table with some tea utensils, and a tea pet. Indeed, the vast majority of us will get the same image in our minds when we hear gong fu cha. The Chinese tea ceremony is almost comparable to Chinese food in the US. Is American Chinese food the same food you will find being served in China? No. It is the same with the Chinese tea ceremony. Not everyone in China practices what we nowadays refer to by this term. Furthermore, modern day gong fu cha is not purely Chinese. (Read more) 

White teas were rarely available outside of the tea growing regions in Fujian. As loose leaf tea production methods improved, the process for creating white teas expanded beyond the Fujian province.  People who have had the opportunity to try this rare and exquisite tea were eager to have it available outside of the original production region. (Read more)

Liu Bao is a tea of history. It is one of the oldest styles of tea preparation that is still preserved and drank to this day. It is believed that the processing methods of Liu Bao served as the base for modern-day Ripe Pu erh preparation. In fact, the two teas go through very similar processing partially because they are both part of the Hei Cha tea category. (Read more)

When thinking of Japanese culture, many of us have come across the term wabi-sabi. Although hard to define literally, wabi-sabi is a concept centered around the appreciation of imperfection. It is carried throughout many aspects of Japanese culture. From art to architecture, literature, poetry, nature, design, and one of the places it’s seen the most… tea ceremony. (Read more)